


Coming out is the easy part

by Coulsonspetwolf



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Coming Out, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Trans Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-19 01:08:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11886717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coulsonspetwolf/pseuds/Coulsonspetwolf
Summary: One shot collection about Peter Parker. At night he is our favourite friendly neighborhood Spider Man but during the day he is just a normaltransgenderboy.Summary of current chapter:Peter has a hard time coming out to Tony.





	Coming out is the easy part

**Summary:** Peter has a hard time coming out to Tony.

 **Characters:** Peter Parker | Tony Stark | Ned Leeds (minor character)

 **tags:** Trans!PeterParker | Hurt/Comfort | dysphoria | Dad!Tony | awkward fluff | Tony Stark has a heart

* * *

 

Peter was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Dressed only in boxers and a wide shirt, he listened to the noise of the cars that were passing by, the noise of the people who came from parties and were now going home, shouting and laughing. He heard every step they took, every little stone they kicked while walking. Tonight was one of those nights in which Peter was hyper aware of everything and it drove him crazy.

Sometimes he wished that his spider senses had an off switch. He couldn't focus, he couldn't think and worst of all, he couldn't sleep. He had been lying like this for what felt like hours to him.

 

Turning his head to look at the clock on his nightstand, he realized that only 20 minutes had passed since he had sneaked into his room through the window. He groaned loudly and rubbed his face with both of his hands. He hated this.

 

A sudden flash of energy rushed through his body and with a swift movement he jumped out of bed, backflipped once and found himself hanging from the ceiling, his hands tying a tight knot into the side of his shirt so it wouldn't slide up and expose his skin. If there was one thing he didn't need tonight it was thinking about how much he hated his body sometimes. Being trans came with a lot of ups and downs and recently the downs weighed more heavily on his chest than usual.

 

As if on queue, a sharp pain ran through his ribs, reminding him again why he was not supposed to wear a binder all day and especially not when he was fighting. He couldn't do anything about it, though. He knew it was unhealthy. He knew it was wrong but the suit was tight and a sportsbra could just not achieve the same effect as his binder. People would see that Spider _Man_ was not so much a man as he would like to be. Peter cursed angrily. Now he was thinking about it after all.

 

He let his arms dangle towards the ground before he started swinging lightly back and forth. Peter had noticed some time ago that this had a soothing effect on his body and sometimes it would even help him to clear his mind. Not tonight, however.

 

“You should just tell Mr. Stark,” he mumbled to himself.

Maybe then they could look into safer ways for him to bind **and** be Spider Man. He had been telling himself many times in the past months that after everything Mr Stark had done for him, he deserved to know. There was one little thing holding him back, however: _fear_.

 

Tony Stark was one of the manliest man Peter had ever seen. His perfectly groomed goatee, his overall appearance, his mannerisms – everything about him just screamed male. Not the body builder kind of manliness like Thor or the powerful athletic type of man that is Captain America. Peter couldn't really find the right words to describe the type of man that Tony Stark was, but it was everything he had always aspired to be since watching the press conference in which he had confidently announced that he was Iron Man.

 

He had always idolized him and after that incident at Stark Expo, his adoration for the billionaire genius had just grown. Sometimes he couldn't believe that Mr Stark actually knew who he was, that he had been at his apartment and that he had crafted a suit just for him.

 

What would he do if he found out that Peter used to be a girl? Would he hate him? Would he take away his suit because it's only meant for real men?

It was 2016 and people still had many prejudices. There were many who hated everything Peter was and stood for. He had been called many names and choruses of “Penis Parker” still followed him wherever he went at school. It hurt but it was manageable on most days. But what would Mr Stark say?

 

Peter swung forth and let go of the ceiling, flipped and landed on the floor without making any noise at all. He wanted to believe that Tony Stark wasn't a transphobe. He wanted to believe that Tony Stark would like him no matter what.

 

He threw himself onto his bed, grabbing his mask from the desk in the process and stared at it for a while. The eyes were crinkled and it felt like they were looking back, mocking him for his thoughts.

 

“I am Spider **Man**!”, he said much louder and with more conviction than he expected. Yes, Peter thought, he had proven himself and Mr Stark had acknowledged him, too. He would not hate him.

 

He put on the mask with practiced ease and determination but once his eyes had gotten used to the fabric he wasn't quite sure what his intention had been.

“Karen?”, he whispered into the dark. It wasn't even odd to say his old name out loud. The AI in his suit was a part of him and naming her Karen was his way of finally letting go of his past and make peace with himself, at least partly.

“Yes?”, she answered back and Peter automatically felt a little calmer. Knowing that she was with him gave him a weird sense of security. He smiled slightly but he couldn't quite push past his worries.

“Do you think Mr Stark likes me?”, he asked before he could stop himself.

“I don't know,” she replied in her usual neutral tone and Peter sighed inwardly. Of course she didn't know. It had been a stupid question to begin with anyways.

“But Mr Stark seems to be worried about you. He checks in on your locati-”.

“Because he doesn't trust me!”, Peter interrupted and felt a bit more miserable.

“-on and development. He is interested in how you handle the many functions and abilities of your suit. He left you a message 10 minutes ago. Shall I play it?”

Peter was baffled for a second and nodded slightly. “Oh... y-yes, please.”

 

“Hey kid. I've got a bit of time at hand this weekend. I need you to come over for an upgrade of your suit. And when we're at it, we can get you a bit more comfortable with how to handle the suit adequately since you _skipped_ a couple of lessons of the training program. Text Happy when he should pick you up. He loves driving you around.”

 

A grin spread on Peter's face. He would spend a whole weekend with Mr Stark? And he wouldn't only upgrade his suit but also train him? That sounded great and he couldn't wait for it to be weekend. He sat up, suddenly pumped with energy.

 

However, his grin vanished as fast as it had appeared when a new thought came to his mind. A weekend had definitely more than 8 hours and there was only so much time Peter could wear his binder without it hurting and getting dangerously unhealthy.

“Shit,” he muttered and let himself fall back onto his sheets, all of his energy gone immediately. The biting fear came back, crawling slowly into his mind. He would have to tell him after all...

 

*~*~*

 

After the plane incident Happy had tried to be nicer to him. He didn't necessarily talk more, nor was he delighted whenever he had to babysit Peter, but he seemed to be less annoyed with him, which was a start in Peter's eyes. He was also convinced that Happy had smiled about something he had said an hour ago. That smile had been more like a half sided muscle twitching around the corner of Happy's lips, but he took everything he got. Peter was a hundred percent certain that Happy was warming up to him. He wished, however, that this warming up involved his talkativeness in certain situations because he really could need some distraction right now.

 

They were sitting in the car, driving silently. Peter couldn't think of anything clever or witty to say, also he didn't really trust himself at the moment. Wouldn't be the first time that he accidentally came out, just because his mind was so preoccupied with the thought: ' _How do I tell this person I like that I am trans?_ ' So instead of trying to start a conversation with Happy, he fumbled on the hem of his hoodie while trying to concentrate on the passing landscape. However, his mind was racing.

 

Peter was scared and would have given a lot to put on his spidey mask just to get Karen to calm him down. He had been rehearsing this coming out talk to Mr Stark at least 30 times during the past days and nights and was prepared for every scenario. At least he hoped so. And yet he was nervous and absolutely terrified.

It would be quite helpful of Mr Stark to stick to one of the scripts in his head. The thought was obviously quite ridiculous but it gave Peter some kind of security. If things went not as planned, Peter could still bail. His back up plan was just leaving in the dead of the night, which was why he was already wearing the web shooters underneath his hoodie. He tried to calm himself down, thinking of Ned and how supportive his friend had been. He usually found the right words to make him feel better.

 

**\- - - - -**

“I don't know how to tell him. I just...,” Peter let out a sigh. He was hanging upside down from Ned's bed, his hair nearly touching the floor. He was solving a 12 sided magic cube but barely paid attention to it. Instead he looked helplessly at Ned who was sitting next to him, his legs stretched out over Peter's and his laptop on his lap.

 

“Just do it the way you did it with me,” Ned replied with a grin but his eyes were still focused on the screen before him.

Peter smacked his friend's arm playfully. “I can't just blurt out 'I'm trans' when he asks me if I want ketchup on my fries.”

“Worked for me, didn't it?”

“Ned!”, Peter whined and let his arms drop to the floor. The magic cube rolled out of his hands and Peter observed with mild interest that it managed to cover an astounding distance for a thing that consisted solely out of edges. It stopped inches from the Stormtrooper which they had build last year.

 

It was Ned's turn to sigh, but he closed his laptop and looked down to his friend.

“Pete, seriously. What is the worst that can happen?”

Peter used his hands to heave himself up onto the bed again. He faced Ned, but avoided his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

“He could take away the suit,” he replied, knowing full well that this was not the worst scenario he had imagined, but Ned didn't need to know that.

 

“Tony Stark built that suit for _you_. He came to _you_ and asked for _your_ help. He took _you_ to Germany to fight freaking Captain America and he continues to upgrade your suit every other week. He needs _you_ , Peter! He needs _you_ as Spider Man. So why would that change just because you were born with the wrong genitals?”

“I don't know... people are jerks.”

“People are. Flash is. But do you really think Stark's like that? He seems to be quite a nice guy. I mean, dude, he sent me a 'best chair guy' certificate because I helped you with that vulture villain. All I got from school was detention.”

“You told them you watched porn on the school computer, Ned!”

 

“My point still stands,” Ned huffed but put his laptop on the floor to move closer to Peter. He put his hand onto Peter's shoulder and smiled encouragingly. “Come on. It will be fine. Just be honest and tell him. I'm at least 80 percent certain that Stark doesn't care what you have in your pants. I know that I don't care and neither should he. You're still the same guy and one of the best dudes I know. And if he is a jerk about it, he didn't deserve you in the first place.”

 

Peter was close to tears. Instead of going for their usual handshake, he hugged his friend tightly. “Thank you, mate.”

 

\- - - -

 

Peter had zoned out a little while thinking about Ned. That happened to him occasionally, mostly because thinking about his friend made him feel better and calmed his nerves. Now that he slowly came back to reality, he realized that something was different.

“Wait,” he muttered in confusion, rubbing his eyes, “that's not the road we usually take to the compound.”

 

Now Happy actually grinned somewhat teasingly. “I wondered when you'd be picking up on that. Took you much longer than I expected. And here Tony said you're a smart kid.”

Peter knew that Happy was just joking, but his brain was busy with the overload of emotions it was currently experiencing. They were not going to the compound? Where else could he meet Mr Stark? And Happy had not only smiled but also teased him like they were old friends? And most importantly: Mr Stark had said that he thought Peter was smart?

He tried not to stutter when he asked excitedly: “W-where are we going then?”

 

“Tony is going to meet you at his house. It's sort of a privilege, you know? None of the other Avengers know Tony's new home address. Well Rhodey does of course but anyways - you better keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone about this.”

Happy got serious during the last part and Peter remembered that he had been Head of Security some time ago. Peter also remembered seeing on the news how Mr Stark's house in Malibu had been completely destroyed by missiles. He nodded in silence. He had never been surer that this was a secret, he would definitely keep to himself. It also helped that he hadn't paid too much attention to where they were going.

 

That nod seemed to be enough for Happy because he hummed approvingly and then fell silent again. The car stopped shortly after that and Peter positively gaped at the house in front of him. It was huge and from what he could see in the dark it looked really beautiful. White walls, big windows and several pillars; the soft light which was shining through the windows gave everything a welcoming gleam.

 

Happy ushered him in. Mr Stark was nowhere to be seen but Happy, either having gotten instructions or being used to this guest thing, showed him around the house. Peter got a quick look at his room which seemed to be twice the size of his own bedroom but was similarly equipped. Double bed in the corner, a book shelf with a mixture of science literature and, weirdly enough, comics, and a desk by the window on which a computer screen was seated. Adding some posters and some merchandise and it would make the perfect room. He knew it was just the guest room but a boy was allowed to dream. And who wouldn't dream about living in a house like this? Not that he wanted to move in here but it somehow gave him a nice feeling to think of it as his room in the Stark house. Peter decided against leaving his backpack in his room. He didn't know whether Mr Stark wanted to work on the suit immediately and that way he was prepared (and hopefully left a good impression).

 

When they reached the big and elegant living room, Mr Stark entered the room and gave Peter his characteristic half smile. “Ah... FRIDAY said you arrived. Thanks, Hap. Good job.”

 

It was weird to see Mr Stark in anything else than a suit but here he stood, sporting a Black Sabbath shirt and black jeans. He was holding a big glass in his hand which was filled with the green stuff Peter had seen him drink at the Avengers compound, too.

“Come on, kiddo,” he said and went back downstairs again. Peter nodded at Happy with a big grin on his face before he hurried behind Mr Stark.

 

It turned out that the cellar of the house was a workshop. There were many screens, computers, Iron Man suits and loose parts of different Avengers equipment. Peter spotted a black bow, wings and a familiar shield. It seemed as if Mr Stark still tried to enhance the weapons of his team mates, even after what happened in Germany.

 

They moved towards the console but another thing caught Peter's eyes: It was a robot which was shaped like an arm. It followed their movements and when Peter passed it, he heard an excited noise. He stopped in his tracks and looked at it with a frown on his face.

“That's Dum-E.”

The robot made another noise and Peter smiled at it. “Does it... understand us?”

“He is sentient for the most part, if that is what you wanna know. Well, for a robot at least. First thing I built back when I was 16.”

 

Peter stared at Mr Stark in surprise. That was probably the first time he had revealed something personal about himself. Dum-E made another noise and poked him into his side. Peter laughed, put his hand onto the metal and patted it lightly. The robot hummed somewhat contently.

“It is a bit like a big dog.”

 

Mr Stark smirked a little but there was sadness lingering in his eyes. He had the feeling there was a much bigger story behind Dum-E than just a smart teenager building a robot.

 

“What's it for?” Peter asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. He turned his head a little to see more of its mechanics. If he had to take a guess, he'd say that it was some sort of assistance robot what with the hand and shape of it. He wondered if its movement was accurate enough to help with soldering small bits and pieces.

“Not much. He is quite useless actually. Messing up everything.”

“Yet you still have it? Why didn't you upgrade it? Or you know... throw it out?”, Peter asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

 

Mr Stark turned around, leaning over one of the many consoles so that Peter couldn't see his face. But his voice sounded different when he replied: “Didn't really think of that. He is...”

“like a friend?” Peter finished for him before he could stop himself.

“Don't be silly. He is a robot.”

“But that doesn't mean it can't...”

Mr Stark turned around seemingly annoyed: “Just drop it, kid. We're not here to chitchat.”

 

Peter was taken aback by that sudden mood change. It wasn't a bad thing to have an emotional connection to inanimate objects. He still owned his very first stuffed animal: a white tiger which he had taken literally anywhere when he was still a child. Sure, it was different because Peter was only 15 but he knew for sure that he wouldn't throw this tiger away. It was the only thing he had left that reminded him somewhat of his parents. But Mr Stark was different and obviously he seemed to have overstepped the boundaries. Just when he opened his mouth to apologize, Mr Stark cut him off.

 

“I'm sorry, kiddo. It's just... a touchy topic. Anyways,” he cleared his throat and turned back to the console again. He wordlessly held out his hand to Peter but didn't take his eyes off the screen.

 

Peter wasn't quite sure what that gesture was supposed to mean. Was that Mr Stark's way of asking for affection? Some people liked a pat on the back, Ned and Peter preferred hugs, MJ liked to punch people encouragingly into the side; so maybe Mr Stark asked for some sort of affection like this? Peter put his own hand onto the outstretched one and squeezed it in what he hoped was an encouraging way.

 

Mr Stark turned his head around, looked at him, looked at their hands and then looked back at him again, one eyebrow raised. “What are you doing?”

“I just thought... I- euh....” Quickly he let go of Mr Stark's hand again, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“Your suit. You're supposed to give me your suit,” he said, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

“Yeah... that's what I thought it meant.”

 

Peter kneeled down and took a lot of time to rummage through his backpack to find the suit,even though there was not much in his bag and his hand had easily found the soft fabric at least 3 times already. His cheeks were burning and he really just wanted to leave the room Alternatively he'd also like to bang his head against the wall. He had probably never felt more embarrassed in his life. He felt reminded of that hug incident some months ago in the car. He didn't know why these things always had to happen with Mr Stark. He just wanted to impress him and not make a fool out of himself every single time he was alone with his idol. Why did he have to be so awkward all the time when all he wanted to do is appear smart and cool?

Once Peter felt that he was in control of his body again, he pulled the suit out of the backpack and gave it to Mr Stark.

 

*~*~*

 

Peter watched Mr Stark while he typed something on the keyboard, he watched the hologram of his own suit appear and spin around. He didn't exactly pay attention to what he was doing with the suit, nor did he listen very attentively to Mr Stark's explanations. It should have been fascinating to him and in every other moment that is exactly what it would have been. When Peter saw his suit, however, he was reminded what he wanted to do. The awkward situation just now definitely didn't help to boost his confidence.

 

“You okay?”

Peter startled. “Y-yeah. Sure.”

Mr Stark again raised one eyebrow and looked at him. “You sure about that? You seem a little distracted.”

“Well... it's just- I mean – you have a lot of stuff here. It's really overwhelming. I... euh. There is just so much to look at.” Peter lied and wished he were better at it. He felt caught off guard and definitely not ready to have this talk now. In his mind he was still trying to get over his embarrassment. The fear was back now, too and he couldn't help but think of all the things that could go wrong. His lie had apparently not been very convincing because from the looks of it, Mr Stark didn't buy it at all. “Mr Stark, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...”

 

“Let me stop you right there.” He got up from his chair and stood before him.

Peter felt very small all of a sudden and looked down. Even though he was Spider Man, he wished that he had the same feeling of self-confidence whenever he was not wearing his suit. Being snarky and having witty combats for every situation would be so useful. Instead he was standing here in the workshop of his hero and stared at his own shows. Only when he felt a hand on his shoulder he raised his head again.

“You don't need to apologize but you really have to work on your lying skills. Not that I would ever encourage you to lie, but keeping secrets can sometimes come in handy. Don't tell your aunt I said that! But seriously, I know something's up when you're not talking 100 miles per hour. Happy mentioned that you were awfully quiet during the car ride, too. So what's wrong?”

 

Peter briefly wondered when Happy had had time to report to Mr Stark but he couldn't concentrate on that thought for long. Here it was. This was his queue to come clean. It would be fine. It just had to be fine. Peter took a deep breath: “Actually... There is something I need to talk to you about.”

It felt like a confession even though he hadn't said anything yet. Peter used his fingers to comb through his hair, a gesture he only found soothing when Aunt May did it but she wasn't here and he had to try to calm his nerves somehow.

 

Mr Stark looked pleased, probably because he had been right about him but stayed silent. Peter sighed and moved to sit on one of the chairs behind him.

“Ah, it's a sitting down 'I need to talk to you' situation. You better not tell me you found a different mentor. If it's the star spangled man with a plan I'll be super angry.”

 

Peter understood the reference but he couldn't bring himself to laugh or even smile. His nerves were killing him. Mr Stark seemed to notice that the situation was serious. He took a chair of his own, pushed it next to where Peter was sitting and sat down, facing him.

“Okay, Pete. What's wrong?”

 

Peter took one last deep breath and then he let it all out. “Okay. The thing is... I want you to know this because I have actually grown really fond of you and you've been so nice and supportive and I am sorry for what I did on the ship and for not listening to you and I am trans and I just want you to accept me and the suit is great but I can't really wear a binder underneath and I just-”

 

Mr Stark raised his hands to shut him up. “Pete, slow down and breathe. You don't have to take the 100 miles per hour seriously. I won't get any of that if you make one long word out of a hundred syllables.”

This was terrible and definitely didn't go the way he had planned. The only good thing was that Mr Stark was still here, sitting next to him and smiling encouragingly. It would be okay. It just had to be.

 

“I am trans,” he whispered, avoiding to look at the man before him, “I used to be a girl but I am not anymore. I am on testosterone but I don't get the shots as regularly as I should because May can't afford them. I also think that the spider venom in me might be messing with it but I can't say for sure. And I love the suit you made me but it's very tight and I still have... well.. I haven't had top surgery yet because I am only 15 and... well money. So I wear a binder underneath which is really unhealthy but I couldn't bring myself to tell you because I was afraid you'd... and my uncle died but shortly after that you were there and I just want you to like me back in a way. That's why I wanted you to know, not really because of the suit but because you're somewhat like a father to me.. I should really stop talking now.”

 

He had spilled out everything. Every little thing he had thought about in the past months and much more than he had planned on telling Mr Stark. It was stupid to see him as a father considering that he barely knew the man but it just felt nice. Especially after his own parents and Uncle Ben had died, dreaming to have Tony Stark as a father had been so soothing to his bleeding soul. He knew that it was mostly his adoration for him which made him dream about that. But it was too late now. He had spilled the beans and couldn't take any of this back anymore.

 

Scared what he would see, he raised his head and looked up.

 

Tony Stark was stunned. His face was ashen and Peter couldn't quite read the expression on it. Was it scared? Disgusted? Pitiful? Peter didn't know what to make out of it and felt terribly sick. He needed to bail and that immediately.

 

*~*~*

He had fled the workshop, mumbling wild excuses about how it's been a long day and that he was tired and Mr Stark let him leave. Now he was in the guest room, pacing like a tiger in a cage. He didn't know what to do now.

 

He left the suit in the workshop with Mr Stark but he still had his web shooters, so plan B could hypothetically still work. Peter stopped at the window and looked out. There was not much out there which he could use for his webbing. He'd have to walk quite a bit. And if he was honest, he didn't even know in which direction he would have to go. His plan had involved an escape from the Avengers compound which was on familiar grounds. He didn't expect to be at Tony Stark's house for the weekend. Since he didn't have the suit, he didn't have Karen either and his phone was in his backpack which he had left in the workshop when he fled the scene because apparently he was an idiot.

 

Peter cursed and started pacing again. He couldn't believe what he had said downstairs. His plan had been to come out to Mr Stark and not tell him all the other things that were going on in his stupid brain.

There was a knock on the door and Peter was not only pulled out of his thought but also lost his grip. He fell down and barely managed to pull the mattress from the bed with his web and landed rather smoothly on his butt. He took mental note to never use the ceiling for pacing again no matter how calming the prospect might be.

 

Another knock. “Peter? Can I talk to you?”

Mr Stark sounded uncertain and Peter tried to push away his fear. He didn't sound as if he was angry and would throw him out of his house. He could do this. It would be fine.

“Yeah sure. Come in.” His reply sounded much calmer than he actually felt. His heart was racing, and he felt scared and sweaty. He really tried not to freak out.

 

The door opened slowly and Mr Stark stepped in, Peter's backpack in one of his hands. He gave Peter, who was still sitting on the mattress on the floor, a confused look.

“Did you redecorate?”

“Sort of but I don't think I like it.” Peter tried to sound cocky and seemed to succeed because the man smiled slightly.

“Well then we should put it back where it belongs.”

 

He didn't really need help with moving the mattress back onto the bed but Peter nonetheless appreciated the gesture. It was a nice thing of Mr Stark to do and it also gave him time to think about his next words. Maybe he didn't blow it completely.

Once they were done, they first stood awkwardly next to each other before Mr Stark sat down on the bed and Peter followed shortly after. The silence felt terrible and if Peter didn't stop playing with the hem of his hoodie, he'd probably soon have holes in the fabric.

 

“Mr Stark,” Peter started but was interrupted immediately.

“Tony.”

Peter looked at him in surprise: “What?”

“It's Tony. I wanted to tell you that before already. Just cut the Mr Stark crap and call me Tony. Everyone does and we're gonna spend a lot of time together, so I'd appreciate it if you stopped giving me the feeling that I am old.”

 

Peter was stunned to silence again but his heart started beating a bit faster, for different reasons this time. There was hope because Mr Stark... Tony had used the future tense which meant that he didn't want to get rid of him. Maybe he could keep his suit and continue being Spider Man. And maybe Mr Stark... Tony would still be his mentor. There was still hope that he hadn't completely messed this up.

“Okay. Now that we sorted that out... your rambles from earlier.”

 

Sometimes Peter found the human body incredible. How it could change feelings and emotions as fast as lightening. How excitement turned into fear in just millisecond. Peter just wished he'd be able to control these damn changes better. He felt sick.

 

“That trans thing. I had FRIDAY look up some things in the past couple of minutes and I am sure we can find a solution for you to... euh... bind safely while wearing the suit. I am thinking of a suit that has a sports bra binder combination integrated and switches between both or something that achieves the effect of flatness while you are actually wearing a sports bra. Maybe even both methods but I would have to run some tests on that. Does this talk make you uncomfortable? It definitely makes me uncomfortable.”

 

Peter wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry. He talked about this as if it was a science project and Peter knew that it probably helped him keep his cool. “It's weird for me, too.”

 

“Fantastic. Then let me move on. In your Stark Internship contract it says that all of your medical bills will be paid for by Stark Industries, including everything needed for a smooth transition. Is that how you say it?”

“Since when do I have a contract?”

“Since half an hour ago,” Tony replied in a matter of fact way, rolling his eyes.

“Oh...”

There were moments when Peter felt really like an idiot and this was certainly one of them. Mr Stark... _Tony_ had just offered to pay all of his bills so he could transition properly. Just because he could. And he used the Stark Internship as a bad cover for it. He could not believe what was happening. Maybe this was a dream after all. He pinched himself subtly. He felt the pain but still couldn't quite believe it. He had rehearsed this talk so many times but none of his versions had been like this. He automatically felt a little bad. Did he guilt trip Mr Stark... **Tony** into this? That had not been his intention.

 

“That is very kind of you Mr... Tony but you really don't have to do all of that.”

“Kid, I don't make the rules. Contract is contract.”

“But...”

“Ah ah ah! I am not done yet.” He turned serious and now it was his turn to take a deep breath.

 

“Okay, what you said about that … parent thing..... I am not a person you should look up to, Peter. There are a lot of things not... okay with me. I'm trying to do better, sure but you need to strive for more. I told you before: I want you to be better than me. And I stick to that.”

 

Peter didn't know how to respond to that so he stayed silent. Mr Stark looked at him for a while and when it became awkward he cleared his throat and nodded slightly. “Alright, good talk.”

He got up and cleared his throat again. He turned around as if to leave but stopped again. Then he quickly ruffled through Peter's hair while muttering: “You're a good kid, Peter.” before hurrying out of the room.

 

Peter looked at the strand of hair that was now hanging in his eyes and smiled softly. He lay down on the bed and felt very tired all of a sudden. All the stress and fears of the last days had just vanished into thin air.

 

Tony Stark was a good man and the fact that he couldn't see it himself made Peter a little sad.

Tony was a guy who kept a useless robot because it was a friend from the past. Tony was a guy who still developed equipment for team members who were seen as criminals now. Tony offers to pay bills for a transitioning teenager just because he cares.

“Not a person I should look up to, my ass,” he mumbled to himself before closing his eyes.

Peter knew for sure that tonight he wouldn't have any problems to fall asleep.

 


End file.
